Tsukihime
by Agnidivya
Summary: Barely a woman, never a child. Her life started with death. Her death became her life. The wheels of fate have begun to turn. She must learn to transcend both life and death before a three thousand year old grudge reaches fruition...
1. Spring field

**Hmm, let's see. It's been a while since I've come across this. I never really paid attention to the story because it bored the heck out of me. The action was not quite up to my standard, but good enough to keep in entertained, and that was probably what kept me glued. **

**Why am I writing this?**

**Well, I just got the idea a few days ago and it wouldn't leave me alone.**

**I know people want to kill me for not continuing the Naruto fic. Well, the new chapter will be out by the next weekend.**

**I'll be assuming some things for the sake of the story.**

**Disclaimer: Bleach does not belong to me. This fic is purely fan made as I need a hobby.**

* * *

**Haruno**

**春野**

_(Spring field)_

* * *

Being a lieutenant had its perks, one of them being the ability to move anywhere within and outside Sereitei without any tangible restraint. All one needed to do was inform the captain.

Rukia stared out at the grass field bordered by dense trees, a sense of nostalgia and longing dancing in her heart. This was the place Kaien-dono often brought her to practice, it was where she first spoke with Sode no Shirayuki (though she first met Shirayuki elsewhere), it was where she first learned to dance to **Tsukishiro **(white moon) and **Hakuren **(white ripple) with Kaien-dono watching over her and it was the place where she learnt a new dance when she stopped running away from the fact that he could no longer be there. It had been his special place and now he had entrusted it to her.

After a short prayer to his and Miyako-dono's souls she let out a sigh to banish thoughts of the past. There were still others that needed her.

Her hand reached out to Sode no Shirayuki, her fingers wrapping around the red bound hilt in silent reverence. Shirayuki was beautiful even in her sealed form. In one elegant motion, Rukia drew her blade out listening to the hiss of steel against the sheath. It was a melody only she could hear.

She held Shirayuki horizontally before her, the blade pointed to the right. 'Mai (dance), Sode no Shirayuki', she spoke softly but firmly and turned the blade counter-clockwise. The sword bled until it turned a pristine white. The cross-guard turned into a hollowed out snowflake and a crystal chime with a trailing white ribbon appeared out of the pommel.

With steeled eyes Rukia let loose her _reiatsu _(spiritual pressure), cutting out all the shackles that bound it. But instead of suffocating everything around her, she willed it to wash over all creatures – the trees, plants, insects, birds and animals – cocooning them in a gentle, cool embrace.

Releasing reiatsu was often an offensive move. It had taken Rukia a while to realize that fighting was not always the solution. Sometimes you need understanding and acceptance; you need to just let it flow.

Almost six days ago she had woken from a nightmare. She remembered seeing her brother torn to pieces, Renji being battered until he was just a bloody smear and Ichigo having his head cut off from the rest of his body, all by their on Bankai. She saw Chad being stabbed through the heart, Orihime being strangled to death and Uryuu shot down by his own. She saw her beloved Captain burning inside out and Hanatarou – sweet little Hanatarou – crushed to death under falling debris. She had been drenched in cold sweat and had not noticed the cold gales outside. Her brother had noticed and had rushed to her room, telling her that her wild reiatsu had summoned a snowstorm. She had not paid much attention to his indirect concern, instead choosing to bask in his presence and the fact that he was **alive**. She had embraced him, oblivious to his uncharacteristic wide-eyed stare, and pressed her ear to his chest to listen to his heartbeat. The 'lub-dub' of his pulse should have reminded her that he was still alive, but it only made her remember how she had almost lost him – the blood, the debris and the cherry blossom petals, his ragged breathing and his grey eyes dulling.

The war had left many scars.

The first thing she had done was ask for a week off. Surprisingly her Captain had complied, though he had looked worried. She had reassured him that she only needed a short break and that she would report to him every day before taking her paperwork home.

She had come here to train. This place, with all its memories and the hearts of two of her loved ones, set her mind at ease. It had reminded her of what **she **needed to do, and that had been a far-cry from what she thought needed to be done.

When she had inquired (discreetly, of course), her brother, Renji and Ichigo had told her they had had to fight their Zanpakutou to obtain Bankai. She had tried the same and challenged Shirayuki, only to have herself shut out by her beloved partner. It took her a while to realize that the three men in her life had to fight because their powers were raw and unrestrained (no matter how much Nii-sama had tried to refine it with words). But her power was subtle, precise and lethally graceful. While others charged, she danced.

Three day ago, after her realization, when she called, Shirayuki answered and they danced together.

She only had a day left, but she wasn't worried. It took months, even years, to achieve Bankai. And though she wanted to get to that level, she would do it at her own pace, for she was growing strong already.

She ran the palm of her left hand under the blade. When her hand swept off the end, powdered snow blew out like sparkling stardust. She twirled and the dance began.

* * *

Strong steps echoed off the polished wood floor, the dull thuds as sturdy as their owner's gait. The thuds then turned to taps as the sandaled feet left the wood porch and stepped on the cobble stone walkway.

Stern grey eyes gazed about the surrounding garden. It was different every time he came here, livelier than the last time. He remembered a time when this garden held nothing more than Sakura trees, grass and a koi pond. Now, it boasted a variety of flowers. Snowdrops and the occasional hibiscus lined the walkway. Bushes of rose, chrysanthemum and dahlia were scattered about. White water lilies floated like snowflakes on the surface of the koi pond.

Byakuya's eyes softened. His sister had finally started becoming as demanding as a Kuchiki, at least when it concerned the gardens. She had asked the gardeners to never let Sakura be the only flowers blooming in any of the gardens. There always had to be more flowers, even if it went against her honorable brother's wishes.

He had a feeling he knew why. Ever since the war ended his sister had been plagued by nightmares. All of them were. It had come to the point where she would shy away from the Sakura petals that fell from the tree every time a wind blew. Five days ago she told the gardener to plant more varieties and would not budge until she had had her way. She calmed down once the flowers were planted and slept better at night. She had then made it a ritual to get up early and come here to release her reiatsu and cocoon everything with her gentle cool touch, as if to make sure that the flowers were there and she would protect them.

His finger reached out to caress a drop of dew on the scarlet petal of a hibiscus. It was no doubt Rukia's doing for it was impossible to have dewdrops so late in the morning in spring. He noticed something and pulled back his hand, bringing it close to his face to examine it. His hand no longer trembled, though the scars still stood out. A small butterfly with pure white wings flew past his hand.

Rukia wasn't the only one who slept better at night now.

* * *

It had never been about what she had learnt and understood. It had never been about control. She had tried hard for so long to get the control she needed – control over her power, her emotions and her blood lust. Yes, Rukia was boyish and a fighter at heart, and there were times when she wanted nothing more that to fight and get violent. True, there were times when she let out this side of her, but there were few and far between, and were reserved only for battles or the most accepting of people like Ichigo and Renji. But no matter how much control she had, when it came to situations that pushed her to her limits, that control was always forced to surrender to her instincts. Perhaps that was how it was always meant to be.

She snorted bitterly. It had taken two wars to get her to realize that.

She twirled on her feet, her sword stretched out at her side, twirling with her in a deadly arc that would cut an opponent in half. She stopped abruptly, without any hint of dizziness, and stabbed forward at her invisible opponent. She then wrenched her arm back, spun Shirayuki into a reverse grip and slashed back without turning around to hit anyone daring to attack her from behind. She pulled her arm forward, spun Shirayuki into a forward grip, and performed a pirouette with a diagonal slash down to her left. The ribbon trailed her, not once getting in her way.

Her body was too small for power strikes. Kaien-dono had known that. That was why he had taught her his own techniques, the ones that resembled a dance, and had noted how well it suited her. After all, her own Zanpakutou command was 'dance'. Now, it came to her naturally, as if she had been born to do it. Instinct and experience told her when to stab, slash, swing, block, parry, evade and so on.

She did not know how long she had been at it, but she pushed on, completely ignoring the ache in her muscles. She was too far gone in her rhythm to stop now. She was scared that once she stopped she would not be able to start again. This was the only control she had now.

Suddenly, her body came to a stop. Something was no right. Someone else was here.

* * *

'Kisuke… what are you thinking of now?'

The blond man only hummed in response as he gazed at the clear blue sky. His hat was missing and Yoruichi was painfully reminded of days long gone when her friend had been nothing more than a shy and curious boy not burdened by guilt. He seemed to be in deep thought. And though this was normally bad, seeing as it led to crazy ideas being born in his head, the Shioin princess sensed something amiss.

'Kisuke…'

'She was such a tiny thing, you know?'

The violet haired woman paused at his statement.

'She was so small. I thought she was a doll. But her eyes were so bright.' His voice had softened; it held none of his usual obnoxious humor. 'Even when she was covered in filth she looked so ethereal, as if she did not belong among us. It made me wonder how someone like her wound up in Inuzuri.'

Her breath caught in her throat. She knew who he was talking about, knew what he was thinking of, knew what he was telling her – how and why he sealed away that accursed jewel.

But why now?

'We just stood there staring at each other.' A dry chuckle escaped his lips. 'She nearly fell back trying to look up at me. And I did not know what to say.' His voice sounded heavy with guilt. 'I had to seal the Hougyoku away, and for that I needed an impossibility – the perfect vessel that would not only contain its vast power but also slowly break it down over a lifetime, until its power was drained away. I really did not know where to find such a soul, so I let it decide. And it led me to her.'

'What?' the ex-general of the stealth force nearly fell over, 'How did… why…?'

'I still don't know why it chose her, but there was something off…' His grey eyes glazed over, the way they always would when he was trying to draw out a detail form a memory. 'I sensed her reiatsu then. It was cold and soft… just like snow. But the way it reacted to mine… it was like the moon. You can't see the moon until the light of the sun falls on it. Then it sheds the light to illuminate the dark side of the earth. And I realized that she was the perfect vessel. It would be well hidden in her. Nobody would be able to find it unless they knew what they were looking for.'

'Kisuke, why are you telling me this now?'

'I don't know', he replied honestly. And when he looked at her, his eyes were sharp and clear, 'But it felt like Rukia was meant to be a vessel.'

* * *

He was grumbling under his breath now. Why, oh why, did he have to be such a softie? As if letting Matsumoto get away with her antics wasn't enough.

All Captain Hitsugaya had planned on doing was deliver the papers to Captain Ukitake of the 13th division and then continue with his day off, hoping rather vainly for his lieutenant to get her work done. But then Ukitake just had to pile boxes of snacks in his arms and say, 'Oh no, those are not for you! I realized I was wasting sweets by giving them to you. That was why I was going to give them to Rukia-chan. She loves sweets but she left before I could give her any. Do you mind getting these to her? She's on Mt. Koifushi in the outskirts of West Rukongai. I'm sure you've heard of it. It's really beautiful in spring. I'm sure you'll enjoy spending your day there!'

Now he was stuck running an errand for a fellow captain. Why couldn't Ukitake get his third seats to deliver these to his lieutenant? They would jump at the chance to do anything (and he meant **anything**) for the man.

And why in the name of the spirits watching over them did the girl have to come this far just for some alone time (and some training)?

He stopped his _Shunpo_ (flash step) at the base of the mountain and looked around. He had to admit (grudgingly) that Ukitake had been right. It really was beautiful. The vegetation wasn't too thick; there were many flowering plants and fruit trees. The air was fresh and smelt of moist earth and spring flowers. Little animals scampered about.

He made his way up the mountain, following a well-worn path up the gently sloping side as he had been instructed. It was relatively quite here save for the occasional chirp of a bird or the squeak of a squirrel or the rustle of leaves.

It was when he was halfway up the mountain that he felt it. A reiatsu like a blast of cool air in the middle of a hot summer noon. It was refreshing and rejuvenating.

As an ice wielder his reiatsu was often described as cold and unforgiving. So it was surprising that the wielder of the second strongest ice Zanpakutou had such a comforting presence. He began to understand Kurosaki's attachment to her. Anyone would be attracted to that kind of presence.

Curious, he hurried to the top and stopped short at what he saw. In a grassy field, bordered by the mountain trees, the younger Kuchiki danced. There was no other way to describe it. Her white Zanpakutou slashed and stabbed with stunning force but spun and twirled with natural grace. It's wielder was light on her feet and extremely agile, not staying in a place for more than a second. And every time they moved a trail of powdered snow followed leaving a thin layer of frost on the grass. Some of the ice had already melted to form dewdrops.

He watched her continue on for a minute or so until she stopped, sword held above her with both hands. Hitsugaya realized that she had sensed him and almost regretted being there. The dance had seemed like an intimate ritual between Shinigami and Zanpakutou.

He sighed as she turned and her violet eyes caught his gaze. She brought her sword to her side and bowed low in greeting.

'Good morning, Hitsugaya-taichou.'

Walking out from under the cover of the trees he gave her a curt nod in greeting. 'Kuchiki, I hope I'm not disturbing you.'

'No sir. I hope you don't mind if I continue. I won't get in your way.'

The boy (really, he was the younger one) raised a white eyebrow. 'Kuchiki, I'm only here on my day off. I'm the one in your way. By the way, Ukitake asked me to give these to you.' He carelessly flung the pouch at her.

She caught it out of reflex and peered inside. Hitsugaya watched in amusement as her eyes lit up. At that moment, the serious, stoic and mature younger Kuchiki looked so childish he could not help the slight twitch in the corner of his mouth.

'Thank you, taichou', she said in glee.

He only waved in reply and walked away to find a place to sit. When he made himself comfortable on a log placed under the shade of a tree he turned his attention to the older girl. He watched as she placed the pouch beside the bag she had brought and resumed her routine.

If Hitsugaya had not seen the force behind every strike he would have wondered if she was really training or simply jumping around. It did not seem like she would finish anytime soon. He certainly was not in the mood to train. Willing to indulge in his lethargy for once he decided to sit back and watch her.

Looking at her made him feel restless. For some reason he just wanted to get up and fight. It had been a long time since he had participated in a proper spar. And their fight against the Arrancar and Vandenreich was something he rather not recall. For once he just wanted to pick his sword, feel the roughness of the hilt against his fingers, taste the sweat on his skin and embrace the thrill that came with the rush of adrenaline.

And Kuchiki's dance promised that.

'Kuchiki', he called out as she slowed down her swing, signaling that she was taking her time to consider her next move. She immediately stopped what she was doing and turned to face him. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes wide and her limbs twitched at the sudden halt. She looked intoxicated with the need for battle. 'Fancy a spar?'

Her eyes lit up yet again and she nodded.

Hitsugaya could not keep the smirk off his face. He knew, somehow just knew, this was going to be a good fight.

He took his place opposite her, his hand resting on the hilt of the sword slung across his back. He watched her grip on her sword turn firmer as she brought it up before her.

They agreed without words that this was going to be an all out fight. A simple clash of swords was not going to satisfy them. The Kuchiki had already released her Zanpakutou. Asking her to hold back now would be like trying to stop an avalanche.

Hitsugaya was going to release his Zanpakutou as well. The war may have ended but the sudden lull, though welcome, did not feel right. After having to struggle for so long even the slightest twitch in the time of peace made him jump. And after getting Hyourinmaru back he needed to feel his partner fighting beside him, only then would he sleep peacefully at night. He needed this, if only to wear himself out.

'Souten ni zase (sit upon the frozen heavens)! Hyourinmaru!'

He pulled his sword out in one fluid movement, the blade growing longer and a chain with a crescent moon appearing out of the pommel. The clear sky darkened as the dragon sword gathered the water in the air.

Kuchiki made her move at the same time, the haunting sound of the crystal chime being the only warning. Holding the sword horizontally before her, she ran her palm under the blade, releasing a plume of powdered snow that covered the area they were standing in like fog until neither could see.

Hitsugaya held his word above him out of instinct. There was the sound of clashing metal and the familiar weight of a sword bearing down on his own. Just as the white cloud cleared he felt the white sword draw back. There was a swish and he brought his sword up to block the blow to his left. Another swish and he brought her sword to his chest to block the slash from below.

He did not know much of the girl's fighting style, just what he had observed in brief glimpses, but he knew for a fact that she had improved from the last time he had seen her. She was swift and smart. She knew she stood no chance against him in a power struggle, so she attacked him before he had the chance to gather her strength. She had a slight advantage and she was using it.

He saw her flick her sword and Hyourinmaru slid off the white blade with a screeching hiss, Hitsugaya's own strength bearing it down. In one quick fluid movement she slashed from left to right, intent on slicing his throat. He leaned back automatically, but she followed and simply brought her sword down to slice his left shoulder. He blocked it and for a moment they pushed against each other, Hitsugaya stuck in a position where gravity worked against him but aided the girl and her sword. Suddenly, her grip slackened and footing lightened allowing his strength to push her back.

Caught off guard he stumbled a bit before righting himself and looked up just in time to see the girl stab the frozen ground four times. 'Tsugi no mai (second dance)!' She held her sword over her right shoulder in a scorpion strike. 'Hakuren!'

Her reiatsu exploded and an avalanche of white ice headed straight for him at break neck speeds. He, of course, jumped out of the way, simultaneously channeling his power into his sword. Water and ice gathered around it and took the form of a vicious serpentine dragon. With a powerful slash the dragon was sent hurtling toward the girl.

She flicked her sword, the sound of the chime echoing around her, swung it in a wide arc before her. 'Some no mai (first dance)! Tsukishiro!' A pillar of light shot toward the sky, encasing the dragon and freezing it before shattering and crumbling to the earth.

The moment the first of the ice shards hit the earth he was upon her. She had to bring her sword up and press her left hand against the blade to hold back the sword bearing down on her. Hitsugaya tightened his grip on the hilt and pushed down harder.

'You really aren't holding back, are you?' he growled.

She did not answer. She did not need to. The wild gleam in her eyes, that he was sure was mirrored in his own, was all the answer he needed. There had never been a chance to vent the anger and frustration and grief after the war. There had only been peace, recovery and restoration. She needed this just as much as he did, needed it before they broke from the strain of dealing with the aftermath.

She placed her right foot forward, pushed a little harder and suddenly spun back, easily sliding out from under his blade. This time he was ready for such unexpected moves and stopped his sword before it touched the ground.

Not giving her a chance to pull another such move, he followed after her, swinging to his left and right and left again. Each time she danced out of his reach, but just barely. The fourth slash was blocked and she flicked her sword again to redirect it to his left, away from her. But he fell to one knee and brought his sword back to slice across her waist.

She flipped over him and swung her sword down to slice his left shoulder again. He flicked his sword over his shoulder to block the strike. She had the physical advantage now and the force of the blow caused both of them to spin clockwise.

He ducked and watched her sword sail over his head. Using the momentum of the spin he stepped behind her and stabbed forward. She leaned back to her left and watched as his blade tore through the black _kosode_ covering her chest. She brought her white sword up and hit the edge of his longer sword, forcing it away from her body. He had no choice but to turn with his sword and she used the chance to slice at his abdomen. He stepped back just in time, however his _haori_ was not spared and was split open across the hemline.

He slashed down from his right and she slashed up from hers. Once again their blades clashed and were locked together. They pushed against each other until she moved to flick her sword. He saw it and did not give her a chance to follow through. He quickly flung the chain of his sword, wrapping it around her, binding her arms to her torso.

He smirked as she snarled and struggled to break free. The smirk was wiped off his face, however, when she suddenly stopped struggling, tilted her sword toward his face and looked at him with cold violet eyes.

'San no mai (third dance), Shirafune!'

Instincts born form battle was all that saved him as he dove to the side. Ice had gathered on her blade and had extended its reach with such speed that it still managed to graze his right cheek and shear off some of his snow white locks.

For a brief moment he was reminded of Ichimaru's Zanpakutou. But that moment was enough.

Red hot rage exploded within him and suddenly he was out to seek blood. He raised his sword above his head with his right hand, his left still gripping the chain tightly, and was about to bring it down to tear her apart when she suddenly jumped back, pulling him with her. His grip on the chain faltered and that was enough for her to wriggle free. His sword still crashed down but she managed to roll out of the way and settle into a crouch, Sode no Shirayuki held firmly against her side.

He looked at her with murderous eyes. It was settled. This was no longer a free-for-all spar, but a fight to the draw blood.

She felt her own excitement build. It was déjà vu all over again. For a moment she did not see a boy with white hair, turquoise eyes and a long sword standing before her, instead she saw a tall man with black hair, oceanic eyes and a long trident.

'_Don't you see Kuchiki? This is what happens when we release our power. We won't be able to hold back, especially those of us who have violent elements. Our Zanpakutou are the embodiment of our fighting spirits. Once we draw our blades, we fight with all we have!'_

'_Then fight me, Shiba-fukutaichou!'_

'_Not until you channel you power into your Zanpakutou. Keeping it within you won't help. Let it out; let it out so I can see your strength. Show me you aren't weak, that you aren't just a girl with a blade. Show me that you are a warrior with a sword!'_

And she did.

Channeling her power in to her Zanpakutou, she leapt forward. In a single leap she covered the distance between them and stabbed at his head. He ducked under her and she was forced to flip over him and dig her heels into the ground the instant she landed to keep from sliding too far away.

He was at her immediately, slicing along the ground where she landed. She jumped back and Hyourinmaru tore open the earth where she once crouched.

The air grew heavier as he gathered moisture for his attack. His reiatsu poured out of his blade, water and ice swirled about taking the shape of a dragon yet again. He slashed forward, the dragon trailing the path of his blade before lunging at the girl.

She leapt up and out of the way as the beast crashed into the earth. But it did not stop there. It followed her and she was forced to spin to her left in midair. Its fangs grazed her side, drawing blood and freezing it in place. The shock and pain of the blow caused her to crash back onto the ground.

With a groan she stumbled onto her feet and watched as the dragon pounced at her again. She stood straight and brought her white sword up to her chest. She looked ready to take on the heavenly beast.

At that particular sight, Hitsugaya's rage cleared and he saw exactly what he was about to do. But this had gotten out of control, both of them too far gone, and it was far too late to stop the attack.

To his utter surprise though, she stabbed the ground four times in quick succession and took position. Snow gathered from the four fissures to the tip of the blade.

'Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!'

This time the wave was twice as powerful and it blew back the serpentine beast. Though awed by her sudden display of power, he knew he had to stop this fast. He jumped out of the way and watched as the wave of snow and ice tore apart his dragon and several trees. The moment the wave stopped he saw her lunging at him. With her eyes narrowed in cold fury, short hair fanned out about her face, she looked like a true soldier out to make a kill.

He side-stepped her attack, letting her rush past him. Before she could turn around he caught her by the scruff and slammed her into the ground. She cried out as her back collided with the frozen soil. He then fell atop her, his right knee digging into her left side where her wound was now open and bleeding, and his left foot stomped down on her right elbow so she wouldn't be able to move her sword arm. He then pressed the tip of Hyourinmaru against her throat.

It was rough treatment, and he normally disapproved of treating girl's this way. But it needed to be done. The pain would hold her down and bring her back to reality. Besides, with the way they just fought he doubted it would make a difference.

'I won Kuchiki', he whispered.

Awareness slowly bled back into her eyes. He saw them widen and knew she realized what they had just done. But then she smiled at him. It was a small smile, just an upturn of the lips, yet so genuine and sincere that it caught him off guard again.

'You did taichou.'

Suddenly he was very aware of their positions and how they were flushed and panting. He hastily scrambled off her, but immediately regretted it as he felt his knees give out under him. As he unceremoniously fell back to the ground she sat up gingerly clutching her side.

He took in the view about him and found that the one picturesque landscape had suddenly turned into a frozen battlefield. He was not complaining though, that had been one of the more satisfying fights he had ever fought. Sure, there had been no strategy or banter or whatever else was needed. Not to mention it lasted only a few minutes. But it had been raw, primal, unrestrained and open. He found himself craving for more.

Maybe for the next one. For now he was content.

* * *

**Okay, I know most of you are going WTF? So let me explain.**

**This is after the war in the final arc. And if you have met real war veterans you will notice how restless and jumpy they always are. You just don't recover from the trauma of a war. You'll always be haunted by nightmares. That is what is reflected in this chapter.**

**Why Hitsugaya? Well, I tried the same thing with other characters – Renji, Byakuya, even Shinji. Somehow Hitsugaya was the one that worked out the most. Maybe because of the shared element, I don't know.**

**Why Bleach? Frankly I never liked Bleach or Naruto for that matter. So this is my way of bashing it and trying to make it seem better than what they show on TV. If I like a show I wouldn't dare change it or look for it in fanfiction.**

**And no, there are no defined pairings. I hate romances. I'm more of an action person. Maybe as the story progresses you'll get some (Fan-girls don't squeal!). As of now there will be no romance.**


	2. Beginning

**Okay, I've been stuck in a situation where I could only read fics and not publish them for a long while. And I've noticed so far that the fics that do stay close to the action genre are so few and far between that I need to use a magnifying glass to search for them. Naruto is the only category that has catered to my taste (check my favs to see what I mean). The action genre in Bleach is practically non-existent. **

**Oh well! I'll just write one to make up for it.**

* * *

**Hajimari**

始まり

_(Beginning)_

* * *

'I hope you don't mind frozen _onigiri _(rice balls)', Rukia stated as she held up her bag. Her attack had flash frozen her bag along with her medical supplies, food, water and the pouch of snacks Hitsugaya had given her.

'Sure, why not?' replied the vertically challenged captain, not even registering what she had said. He was lost in thought, so lost in fact that he did not even see the frozen food held out before him or Rukia waving it about his face while calling out to him.

'Taichou!' she yelled, finally losing her temper.

Hitsugaya snapped out of his reverie and regarded her. Once he realized that he had been ignoring her, he coolly took the food from her without a word.

Rukia huffed in annoyance. Now she completely understood Ichigo's irritation with this boy. He was as bull headed and as proud as her brother. Ignoring his curious look she settled herself on the log next to him and bit into the onigiri in her hand. It was so hard and cold it caused her jaw to ache and her teeth to tingle, but it was better this way. If the ice were to melt then the rice would get soggy to eat and she would have to search for wild fruit, which was near impossible as they had destroyed pretty much all the vegetation around them. And she really did not want to hunt down rabbits.

'I still can't believe you made me use so much of my power in such a short fight.'

She paused at what he said and swallowed before speaking (she still remembered how Kaien-dono spoke with onigiri in his mouth, disgustingly spraying rice grains everywhere). 'I don't think either of us used that much power', she replied thoughtfully, 'We were stressed and needed an outlet. I think that's why we're exhausted. I mean, if we were to go all out then I'd have mixed in kidō and you would have used Bankai.'

'Tch, don't get ahead of yourself', he scoffed, 'I wouldn't need to use Bankai against you.'

For a moment Rukia forgot she was speaking to a captain. 'Well then, I'd force you to use it!' she snapped.

'How?' he asked with a raised eyebrow, looking thoroughly amused.

Rukia huffed, crossed her arms over her chest and turned away in a rather snobbish manner. 'For your information, I'm very close to achieving Bankai myself.'

Everything came to a screeching halt as the words settled over them. Even the birds seemed to have stopped chirping and the air seemed to have turned still. Rukia wanted to hit her head against a tree. Why on earth did she tell him that? She hadn't told her captain or her brother or Renji or even Ichigo for that matter.

'You're close to achieving Bankai?' Was that a hint of incredulousness in his voice?

Rukia was stuck between wanting to punch him and wanting to punch herself. 'Hm, yeah…' she muttered, shifting uneasily in a vain effort to redirect her nervous and angry energy.

Suddenly everything she had felt, and had only been relieved of during the brief fight, crashed into her being all at once – her insecurities, her feelings of weakness, of being a burden, of failure, of how easily she gave up at times, of how easily she was distracted. She still remembered the lone petal fluttering toward her, telling her that something was wrong. Her brother had needed her, but she had been knocked out so easily.

She was always saved. She hated it because she was meant to be strong. It hurt her to be the one to be saved. It hurt her more to see them get hurt when all she did was watch. She needed to be stronger. That was why she worked harder on kidō – hadō, bakudō and healing. That was why she pushed herself to exhaustion everyday without anyone knowing. That was why she started training for Bankai six days ago. She may not be able to achieve it in three days the way Renji and Ichigo did, but she would either achieve it or die trying!

'I wonder what the Bankai of the most beautiful Zanpakutō would look like', Hitsugaya wondered aloud.

Rukia blushed slightly at the praise, having temporarily forgotten that he had been beside her, but answered him anyway. 'It's something long', she gestured with her hands. At his questioning look she continued. 'I don't know how, but sometimes when I train I find myself aiming at places far beyond the reach of my sword. And sometimes I swing too hard, as if I'm carrying something heavy.'

'I remember jumping around a lot when I was training for Bankai. Kyoraku joked about me looking like an eagle chick learning to fly', he replied thoughtfully.

'It's only natural', she shrugged, 'Your Bankai gives you wings. Urahara told me that Bankai differs among people. Renji had to train for endurance and agility. Ichigo was forced to use several swords to learn to not swing around wildly. Nii-sama had to deal with using lesser petals when he had a feeling that he had to use more.'

'And yours is learning to use something long and heavy?'

'Yeah. Also…' here she paused before speaking, 'Urahara-san told me that it isn't just a power threshold that you have to overcome to achieve Bankai, but emotional obstacles as well. Nii-sama hat to learn to control his temper or his power would have simply destroyed everything…'

_That explains why he looks like he's made of stone_, Hitsugaya thought dryly.

'… Renji and Ichigo had to learn that being strong did not necessarily mean swinging swords around.' She turned to him and he immediately knew the question at the tip of her tongue.

'I had to learn to endure people underestimating me', he answered her unasked question, 'People always put me down because I'm either too young or too short. I needed to learn to deal with it.'

'And now you can fly above them', she stated simply. When he looked at her incredulously, she just looked straight back. 'What? It's true!'

They boy with white hair could only shake his head.

* * *

'She came in two days ago and asked me about Bankai.'

'Bankai?' the violet haired woman turned almost accusing eyes at her friend, 'She wanted to train for Bankai? Don't tell me…'

'No, I didn't let her use the _tenshintai_. Neither did she ask me to', Urahara Kisuke replied quickly, 'She probably wanted to, but held her tongue and asked me to explain more about Bankai. That's what I like about her. She is not impulsive and doesn't always jump to conclusions. She must have decided to hear me out before she could ask for anything more.'

'Why **you** of all people?'

At this the blond man looked offended. 'How can you say that, Yoruichi?' he whined, though his eyes held that mischievous twinkle, 'Do you think I'm that untrustworthy?'

Yoruichi just shrugged. 'I don't know. You did put her through a whole lot of trouble. She has every right to not trust you.'

'And she doesn't.' His voice had turned so serious that Yoruichi was forced to look at him. 'She may forgive easily, but she doesn't trust anyone, not me or you or Renji or Ichigo and especially not her brother. But she forgives so easily…'

The woman couldn't help but agree. She had seen the girl, how she refused to show weakness to anyone. Ukitake had told her how he could count the number of times he saw her break down with one hand and still have four fingers left to spare. 'She could have gone to others too. Even if Byakuya-bo threw a hissy fit, even if Renji and Ichigo worried over her like mother hens she could have asked anyone else.'

'She said I explain things best', he stated proudly.

The woman looked at him suspiciously. 'Did she punch you after she told you that?'

And just like that Urahara's shoulders slumped. 'Uh… yeah…'

She just smiled sweetly.

'Who else can she go to? She's not exactly the most sociable person is Sereitei. And with Ukitake sick all the time… you know how much she worries for the people around her. Hell, she'd probably come here and punch me for getting a cold.'

'Sounds like my kinda girl.'

'Not helping Yoruichi', he muttered and glared at his friend, 'But the point is I owe her as much. And she did understand it better than anyone else would. I wonder if I should take her up as an apprentice or something…'

'She understood it better?'

'Hmm, all I had to do was tell her what a Zanpakutō really was and she understood it, in fact she already knew it though she did not acknowledge it, more like she could not acknowledge it', he ranted, not caring if his friend could not keep up with his words, 'But what surprised me was how she concluded that Renji, Ichigo and Kuchiki-taichou had simple minds and hence the emotional barrier they had to overcome was fairly simple.'

'What the hell did she mean by that?'

Urahara hesitated for a moment before replying, 'Nobody lives in Inuzuri for close to a hundred years and comes out as naïve as she makes us believe she is. She may not know much about this world and because of that she may be a little clumsy, but it's the same ignorance we had when we first came here. She understands human nature better than most people. Why do you think she was able to push Ichigo as far as she did? She knew what to say and exactly when to say it.' He smirked at Yoruichi's wide-eyed stare. 'Few have seen past her façade, Yoruichi. She has seen more than she cares to tell. And she isn't a person to show her weakness. The only ones who probably knew were Ukitake and Shiba Kaien, because both men have seen Rukongai for what it really is. As perceptive as Byakuya is he's still very sheltered. I bet he did not even go beyond the fourth district of Rukongai during patrols. If only he knew, maybe then he wouldn't see her as so delicate.'

* * *

'Fukutaichou! You must be working so hard! You're hurt! I'll get the bandages!'

'No, Rukia-fukutaichou! Kotsubaki can't even tie two strings together! I'll get the bandages!'

'You don't even know where they are!'

'I'll just get them from my sister in the 4th division!'

'I'll be done before you can even get there!'

'Why you…'

The sound of the door sliding shut was indeed welcome and it made Ukitake sigh in relief. He loved all members of his division including his 3rd seats, really he did. But even his patience was often worn thin by their constant bickering. He looked up to flash a grateful smile at his lieutenant who had just arrived (anyone who had heard that argument could have guessed who had arrived) and nearly went into cardiac arrest.

'R-Rukia, what happened?' he asked when he saw the state she was in. Her _shihakusho_ was ripped in several places, bruises and scratches covered several parts of her visible skin and there was a bloody splotch on her left side where her kosode was torn. Well, that explained the bandage quarrel.

'Oh nothing to worry about, taichou', she waved off his worry, 'I've healed them with kidō. Training just got a little out of control.'

'Did Shiro-chan get hurt too?' he asked. The poor man always went mother hen over every person he met.

'Yeah… not much, though. I couldn't really touch him.'

The nonchalance in her voice set him on edge. Did she not know what Byakuya would do to him and Tōshirō if she went home looking like that?

She probably did. That was why she was pulling out a spare uniform from her desk.

'Rukia, please tell me you did not fight Shiro-chan just to train for Bankai', he sighed. He saw her freeze and chuckled lightly. 'Did you really think I wouldn't notice? Why do you think I sent him there in the first place? The sweets were only an excuse. I thought he wouldn't let things get out of control. Guess that was hoping too much. Sometimes I forget Shiro-chan is younger than you. Though it surprises me how Byakuya could be so thick-headed about this.'

Rukia giggled slightly as she pulled her _tekkō_ off her arms and flexed her wrists. 'You're a conniving man, taichou', she replied, 'But I can't help but think of Hitsugaya-taichou as a mini version of Nii-sama. They always wear scowls on their faces and walk around as if they own the world and are pretty anal about everything and have anger issues the size of Sereitei, though Nii-sama rarely shows it on his face, but that could be because he's almost an old man.'

'What will he think when he hears you speaking like this?' Ukitake asked with a smile.

'Pout and sulk, probably', Rukia answered thoughtfully, 'That's what Renji, Ichigo and Hitsugaya-taichou do anyway.'

'You spend way too much time around boys, Rukia-chan.'

* * *

The sound of pages turning echoed in the silent room. Long slender fingers ran down the list of names and the photos accompanying them. 'Shinku Reimei…' he muttered, 'And now Kurenai Kasumi? What is going on here?'

'Taichou?' a soft voice called out, breaking Hirako Shinji from his musings.

'Yes Momo?' asked the blond as he looked up at his lieutenant.

'Taichou, you haven't done any of the paperwork, have you?' Lieutenant Hinamori Momo's voice held a lot of exasperation as she pointed at the stacks on the desk, while her other hand rested on her hip.

Shinji could only rub the back of his neck sheepishly. 'Sorry Momo. Something came up and I needed it done quickly.'

Hinamori's expression softened immediately. 'Why? Is there something wrong?'

The captain's face suddenly turned serious. 'I'm not sure, but…' He then shuffled the papers in his hand and pulled out a sheet before getting up from his desk and handing it to her.

Hinamori looked at the sheet. It was a profile of a girl, an unseated Shinigami of her division. 'Her name is Kurenai Kasumi', she heard her captain say, 'I want you to keep a close eye on her, find out everything you can about her.'

Shinji closed his eyes at the questioning look in Momo's doe eyes. He wasn't going to allow a repeat of what happened with Aizen. 'Get friendly with her if you have to. Know everything there is to know about her, even her personal secrets', he ordered, 'And be careful Momo.'

Hinamori's brown eyes hardened. Her captain was serious.

* * *

'A mission to the human world?'

'Mm-hmmm', Ukitake hummed as he poured another cup of tea for his lieutenant and then himself. 'It just came up today and well, I thought I'd tell you tomorrow, but you came back early.'

'Is there a problem in Karakura?' Rukia asked before taking a sip of her tea. Hot and slightly bitter, just the way she liked it. The warmth from the tea cup seeped into her fingers, offering her comfort after a day's work.

'No, not Karakura', her captain waved it off, 'It's Kyoto this time. Apparently there has been a dip in the spiritual manifestations of the city. It could be the work of hollows, but the Shinigami assigned there can't really confirm it. There wasn't much else that could be concluded from the data. So our division has been asked to investigate it. This is a solo mission assigned to you.'

'When must I leave?'

'You'll be leaving tomorrow evening. The mission should not last more than three days, and you will keep us updated regularly. I have already informed you brother.'

'Alright', Rukia replied and placed her tea cup on the table before getting up, 'I'll just go get prepared. See you tomorrow taichou.'

Ukitake smiled as he watched his subordinate exit the room. She was so cute and adorable that he found himself gushing over her at times. Hell, after her near execution three years ago she had most of the upper echelons of Gotei 13 wrapped around her little finger. Everyone wanted to make it up to her for that. Everyone had been impressed with the dignity she had possessed, there was no crying or pleading or justification, just silent cold resignation. Even her last wish had been for her loved ones.

She did not know how much people admired her, or rather she did not **want** to know, she was just too humble. He knew Rukia still carried around her guilt. She hated herself for giving up on the day of her execution, believing that if she had fought back then Aizen would have been exposed earlier. She hated herself for giving up when she found out that the Espada had borne Kaien's memories. She still thought of that victory as nothing more than a fluke, even if that bout had allowed her to make peace with her past. And spirits only knew what terrible memories she bore form Inuzuri.

Rukia may have been innocent, but she was far from naïve. She did not trust easily, always keeping people at arm's length. She was well aware of the extent of human depravity, anyone form the worst districts of Rukongai would be.

He was glad that Rukia had been sent on that particular mission where she had lost her powers. The human children had done wonders to her; bringing out her keen intelligence, tenacious spirit and motherly compassion that had once been overshadowed by the Kuchiki name. She was no longer the timid girl walking in her brother's shadow.

Although Rukia had made peace with some of her past there were more demons haunting her than blades at Byakuya's disposal. That was why Ukitake did not interfere with her training. Trying to reach Bankai would bring her demons out into the open where she would have no choice but to confront them.

He only wished she wouldn't die because of it.

* * *

'TAAAAIIIICHOOOUUU!'

Hitsugaya soon found himself being smothered to death by his lieutenant's female assets as she grabbed him in a gigantic bear hug.

'I'm sorry. I tried but I had to leave for a SWA meeting and then I was called to Kyoraku-taichou's office and then Yachiru-chan asked me to…'

The white haired captain freed himself from his lieutenant's deathly grasp and rubbed his temples, completely ignoring her as she rambled on. It was obvious what had happened here. Her cheeks were flushed, eyes glazed over and she reeked of sake. She was drunk and did not get her work done.

'Matsumoto…'

'And then I came here…'

'Matsumoto!'

'Oh, you're hurt!' She then held him by the shoulders, leaned down toward him and spun him around to check for injuries. Not that he had any. He had not really gotten seriously injured. The smaller bruises and cuts, including the one on his cheek, had been healed by Kuchiki. But, of course, the woman was busy prodding the tears on his shihakusho.

'MATSUMOTO!'

She jumped and stood straight up and looked at him with a little fear that it almost made him smirk. Almost.

'Did you get your work done?'

She laughed nervously and wracked her brain for some sort of excuse.

Hitsugaya took in a deep breath, ready to go on a tirade, but then thought better of it. 'Thought so', he mumbled as he walked up to his desk and slumped into his chair, leaving a gaping subordinate in his wake.

He thought back to what happened a few hours ago and briefly entertained the idea of switching lieutenants with the 13th division. What with Ukitake being sick and absent most of the time Kuchiki was probably the one who ran the entire division. And if what Kyoraku said was right, she had helped Ukitake even when she had been an unseated officer, seeing as she had been the apprentice of the previous lieutenant.

He quickly dismissed the thought. Ukitake had enough on his hands as it was with his third seats around. He would not dare curse the man with his own lazy lieutenant, even if said man called him Shiro-chan, gave him sweets and treated him like a child.

* * *

There was a chime, a chime that sounded so familiar to him, but he could not quite put his finger on. He looked up and his grey eyes fell on a figure within the shadows under the boughs of the Sakura tree – his favorite Sakura tree, the one that was the biggest in the estate. Even in the shadows he could make out the pristine white _furisode kimono_ she wore. Her pale hand reached up toward the branch and…

'Nii-sama.'

Byakuya turned to acknowledge the person who had interrupted his observation before turning back to the tree, only to find that there was no one there. His eyes must be playing with him.

'Nii-sama?' his sister's voice held a tinge of worry.

'Yes, Rukia?' he waited patiently for her to continue. When she didn't he turned to look at her and found her violet eyes looking at his right hand. Looking down he realized why. His hand was trembling again; one of the reasons why Captain Unohana had forbade him from returning to office until he had made a full recovery. It was close to four months now and he was getting frustrated at his slow recovery. Renji was thoughtful enough to bring some of the work to him, though it may have just been laziness on the lieutenant's part.

His thoughts were interrupted when his hand was suddenly grasped between two smaller but firmer and warmer ones. Before he could say anything there was a white glow as Rukia channeled her _reiryoku _(spiritual power) into his hand, drenching it with her cooling healing kidō. And just like that his entire arm felt stronger.

'How does it feel now?' she asked as she slowly let go of his hand.

'Better. Thank you.'

'Alright.'

Her eyes then fell on the Sakura tree that he had been gazing at a moment ago. Without another word she walked up to the tree, placed her hand on the trunk and channeled some of her reiryoku into it like she had to him. She was engrossed in what she was doing and he watched as a small smile spread across her face.

'Rukia, what are you doing?'

His words must have startled her, because she suddenly jumped back and looked at him with a light blush on her cheeks. 'Oh… uh… well, when I first came here this tree was close to dying. So, I thought I'd try to heal it and channeled some of my power into it.' She looked up at the tree fondly. 'Nothing happened at first, but after a month and a half it started sprouting leaves. And I guess I never gave up on it.' She glanced at him before turning back to the tree. 'It's a habit of mine now, I guess.'

Well, that certainly explained why the tree just started blooming all of a sudden, why it grew bigger than the rest and why it was always cool under it. To think that the pride and joy of the Kuchiki estate existed because of her. Not for the first time he cursed himself for not seeing his sister's worth any sooner.

'By the way Nii-sama, I'll be leaving on a mission to the human world tomorrow. Ukitake-taichou must have told you.'

He hoped and prayed that trouble did not follow her there the way it usually did.

* * *

The next day had been a blur of activity, what with all the paperwork she needed to file to make up for her absence, schedule she needed to prepare for her division and the bickering of the two third seats she needed to resolve at least ten times. Evening came quite quickly and she was ready to dash off without looking back, though she did allow Renji to see her off.

It was night when Rukia arrived at the reported area where the spiritual pressure had dipped. The _senkaimon_ had opened about twenty miles away so as not to disturb the delicate spiritual balance of the divine city. Rukia could have used _shunpo _to arrive earlier, but she did not want to reveal herself to any hollows that may have been present. She had masked her presence and walked all the way here, while scanning for any other strong presence.

She jumped onto the highest branch of the tallest tree she found and scanned the area before looking down at the city below. The full moon shone brightly in the night sky, but the city lights kept the stars from being seen.

This was Japan's spiritual and cultural capital, a city of innumerable shrines and temples. The sheer number of spiritual manifestations was immeasurable. The chaotic nature of these manifestations present in the holy places kept the city from turning into a feeding ground for hollows the way Karakura town had.

Rukia jumped to the very top of the conifer tree. Her form was silhouetted by the bright white moon behind her. Her grip on Sode no Shirayuki tightened when her instincts told her that something was wrong, very wrong.

This was not a dip in reiatsu as it had been reported. It was a void, an empty void with absolutely no spiritual energy!

* * *

**And so the stage is set!**

**Please review!**


	3. Ghost

**The worst part of writing a story is the writing. Sure you can imagine all sorts of things and what not, but nothing is as cumbersome as putting it in words.**

**Even if this is nothing more than a hobby to me, I actually put a lot of effort to make the chapters readable and interesting. So don't expect me to churn up chapters every week. I don't do half-baked stories.**

**And Night's flower, you flatter me with your review. I'm sorry I could not send a reply. I hope I can keep up to your expectations.  
**

* * *

**Yūrei**

幽霊

_(Ghost)_

* * *

'This can't be right', Rukia muttered to herself.

She scanned the clearing once again. There was no damage, no telltale signs of struggle. There weren't even the traces of reiatsu of the living beings here. In fact, there was no reiatsu at all.

That should have been impossible.

Whether dead or alive, **every** creature, from the trees, insects and animals to humans, has different levels of reiatsu. Every area occupied by even the smallest of creatures has spiritual manifestations whether in the realm of the living or of the spirits, even Hueco Mundo. It just varies from creature to creature.

Yet, here where she stood, there was no reiatsu, absolutely none. On a scale that could measure it, the needle would be pointing to zero. And despite the trees and the insects around her it felt like she was standing in a photograph with nothing but empty lifeless images surrounding her.

It was unnatural, more so as this was just outside Kyoto, the city with one of the highest and most dynamic spiritual manifestations in the world.

She needed to report this and fast!

She pulled her soul phone from within her right sleeve and flipped it open. Her thumb paused before it could press down on the button. She still could not feel any reiatsu, but her instincts, born form a rough childhood in Inuzuri before she obtained her other skills, were warning her. It was only a smidgen of suspicion, but still…

Her head shot up immediately and she looked out at the sky.

There, silhouetted by the moon, floated a figure in a long white gown. The shape of the figure and the long loose hair made it look like a female. Rukia jumped up the tree closest to the figure and hid in its foliage, her dark shihakusho allowing her to blend into the night. Her violet eyes peered up from between two branches.

The figure was definitely female, but it looked like a floating porcelain doll. It's long wavy brown hair billowed about it just like the long sleeves and skirt of its plain white gown. Its legs and feet were bare. But what startled the Shinigami was its face. It wasn't covered in a mask like a hollow's, not even a remnant of one like an Arrancar's. Its face was human with smooth gold tan skin, but it was as blank as a doll's, its brown eyes dead and glassy.

As Rukia wondered what it was, she saw its head turn left then right, as if it were searching or checking, before it turned around and floated away. Curious and cautious, the Shinigami decided to follow it, jumping from tree to tree as quietly as possible and hiding whenever it turned its head to probably see around it.

The void she had observed before existed in a sphere of a radius of about fifteen meters around the floating figure. When the figure moved away, the reiatsu levels returned to normal.

_How odd!_

She followed it as it left the woods and entered the city. It entered Kyoto from the residential areas where little houses with open yards and small gardens were clustered about. The petite Shinigami jumped from one tiled rooftop to another as she followed the figure. Some of the people on the streets saw a white figure floating about and closely followed by a swift black figure, but dismissed it as a result of a long day.

The floating apparition suddenly stopped at a fifteen storey building and drifted about over the roof. Rukia watched from the rooftop of a much smaller building. Her eyes widened in shock as the apparition was joined by nine more similar beings, each image a female with varying features, but of relatively same age. They floated above the building like silent sentinels watching over the site.

Rukia noticed that the entire building was devoid of reiatsu now, instead of just the space around the floating ghosts (there was no other name she could give them).

She focused her reiryoku into one skilled shunpo to jump to the top, landing on the roof of the building in a silent crouch. She kept to the shadows offered on the roof by the little staircase room that led to the floors below, her black uniform allowing her to merge with them. She wasn't taking any chances in case those apparitions could see her, which was highly probable. She continued to observe them in silence, seeing if she could scope out anything about them.

Nine of them formed a circle and revolved slowly around one. Rukia felt a sense of unease as she watched the one in the middle. It was looking all around it, its body moving with a sense of purpose, as if it knew what it was doing and wasn't simply floating about like its companions. Rukia observed the figure intently. It was dressed in a white gown like the others. It had pale sickly skin, brilliant sky blue eyes and long ebony hair that flowed down to the calves and shone with an indigo glaze in the moonlight. Her unease turned to dread when the apparition's gaze fell on her form. She realized why a second later.

This particular wraith's eyes were clear and focused. It did not have the glazed look that the other wraiths had. And as it spotted her its eyes narrowed dangerously.

The Shinigami saw its pastel pink lips curl into a smirk that was nothing but malicious.

* * *

A hollow howled as a large black sword sliced its mask apart.

'What the hell?' yelled Kurosaki Ichigo while wiping the blood off his forehead with the back of his hand. There was a gash on his left arm and a cut on his left temple. 'These hollows are stronger. I can't believe I had to use Bankai.'

'Less talking, more slashing, Kurosaki!' his Quincy comrade yelled back. Even he wasn't without injuries. His left hand had started bleeding with repeated use. 'Did you not notice? They aren't just stronger, but they're smarter, more coordinated. They've been trying to corner us for a while now.'

They had been at it for over an hour now, having to deal with several smart hollows. They put down so many in that they lost count after the 36th.

'Is something going on Hueco Mundo?' the orange haired male wondered aloud.

'We can speculate later. Twelve more have appeared now', Ishida shot back.

'Damn it!'

* * *

They were diving at her, attacking her from all angles, their nails trying to scrape her skin off, their gowns billowing in the wind, their screams piercing her ears. They looked and acted like ghouls from one of those human horror movies she had once seen with Inoue Orihime.

She dived to the side as one of the ghouls with short black hair crashed into the spot she was standing on. Her hand rested on the red bound hilt of the katana strapped to her side as she crouched in wait. The crashed ghoul quickly floated up before lunging at her with the same ear-piercing screech. When it was close enough Rukia drew out her blade intent on cleaving whatever it was in half.

To her utter surprise though, her sword passed straight through without causing any damage at all, as if its body was made of the air itself. This intangibility seemed one sided because the next second a pale skeletal had had grabbed her throat. Rukia only had time to gasp and kick blindly once or twice before she was flung across the rooftop.

The world turned into a whirling mess of black, white and various shades of grey as she tumbled over the concrete. She managed to right herself and slid to a stop on her feet and in a crouch, but soon realized that Shirayuki was no longer in her hand. She looked up and saw the silver glint of her sword lying on the cold roof in a shower of moonlight.

She jumped to her feet, intent on retrieving her sword, until a painful grip on her left arm stopped her in her tracks. She did not even have time to react when her arm was wrenched back painfully. There was an audible snap and unbearable agony spreading across her shoulder and arm, and she knew her arm had been dislocated.

She did not care though, ignored the pain and spun on her feet, used her right arm to grab hold of the white material over the sentient figure's chest, found it tangible and threw it across the rooftop with an angry cry, just the way she had been thrown. She then ran to Sode no Shirayuki, reached out and grabbed hold of the blood red hilt, spun around to attack the figure behind her. She slashed and this time a blond ghoul with hair that brushed its shoulder blades was split in two from its right waist to left shoulder.

Rukia nearly sighed in relief and turned to finish off the other ones when she noticed the figure stitch itself back together. She was frozen to the spot, her eyes seeing the empty black that formed its insides twist and turn and join before the white material wove itself together with the guidance of invisible hands.

As she watched this she felt something strike her left calf. She looked down and saw a wooden stake driven right through her lower leg. The pain was slow in erupting.

_How?_ she wondered, because objects made of _keishi_ (matter of the material world) could not affect her body made of _reishi_ (matter of the spiritual world).

It was when the pain reminded her that her leg had been pierced through that she noted the pale green glow of the stake. It was lined with reiryoku.

There was another blow, her mind could not comprehend which part of her body received it, but she felt it. Warmth blossomed in her abdomen; she raised her hand to it and felt her fingers get wet. Curious, she brought the hand up to her eyes to examine it. In the silver moonlight there was no mistaking the crimson glow.

She had been stabbed.

She wondered why she did not feel the pain, why she fell to her knees, why her strength was leaving her. _Must be the shock_, she mused.

Yet, she felt the bitterness, tasted it in her mouth, its unpleasant flavor overwhelming the coppery salty taste of her own blood that flooded over her tongue and dribbled out of her lips and down the side of her chin. It seemed she still wasn't strong enough.

It was only when her body hit the floor and her cheek crashed into the cold concrete that slowly turned warm with her blood that she felt the pain burning away at her insides.

It was this pain that made her aware of the ghouls flying away from her, of the bright flash of lightning and the sudden clap of thunder on a perfectly cloudless night, before darkness descended on her.

* * *

'We were being observed.'

'Huh?' Ichigo turned to face his Quincy friend.

'We were being observed, Kurosaki', Ishida stated and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

'What? By whom?'

The Quincy got irritated. 'How should I know?' he snapped back, 'I just felt a familiar reiatsu at the periphery of my senses, enough distance to observe us without being seen in the midst of battle. It was considerably big but well controlled. If that person wanted, they could have completely hidden from my senses. It's almost like they wanted us to know.'

'It's probably just old Hat 'n' clogs watching over us', the orange haired boy waved him off.

'No', Ishida said simply, 'The reiatsu was familiar, yes, but it doesn't belong to anyone we know. I have felt it even before you became a substitute Shinigami and have felt it in every bout we've ever been in. I had not thought much of it because it was so small and I assumed it had been a passerby, but…'

Ichigo frowned at the revelation. 'Any idea where they might be?'

'Sorry, but their reiatsu is completely cloaked now. I can't locate it.'

* * *

The spring day promised to be a beautiful one. The sun rose over the horizon and the dark sky bled to various shades of red and orange before breaking into bright blue with only a smattering of white here and there. It was pleasantly warm and welcoming. All in all, a clichéd good day.

This was the morning that greeted the lieutenant of the 5th division, Hinamori Momo, as she made her way to her division's training field to start her morning routine. There were a few officers returning from their night duties and few others who were practicing early. One of them was Kurenai Kasumi.

Kurenai Kasumi was an unseated Shinigami like many others in her division. She had graduated with an average score from the normal classes at the Shinō Academy. There was nothing remarkable to her name. She was average in kidō and zanjutsu, but she had not even achieved her Shikai yet. There was nothing remarkable to her appearance either. She had dark brown hair that flowed down till her shoulders and burgundy eyes. She wore nothing of note and looked unassuming.

Hinamori kept her suspicions though, just as her captain did. After realizing just how good an actor Aizen had been the lieutenant was hard-pressed to take anything at face value.

The girl must have spotted her because she immediately straightened from her position of casting a hadō and bowed to her. 'Good morning, Hinamori-fukutaichou!'

Hinamori let a smile creep onto her face. 'Good morning', she returned the greeting. Whatever the reason, her captain had told her to watch this girl and she would watch Kurenai Kasumi even if it went against her trusting nature. She did not want a repeat of Aizen either.

* * *

It was snowing. The full moon shone in the sky. The wind rustled the leaves of the trees bordering the empty playground. The little rock slide, the wooden swings hanging from the branches of the trees and the sandy ground meant for the rowdier games were all covered in snow that glinted in the moonlight. And despite all the ice and snow it was not cold.

It was a beautiful sight, if not a bit eerie. It felt surreal, yet very much real. A strange feeling settled in her chest, one she could not recognize.

'Kagome, kagome…'

The young voice that sang this song echoed all around her.

'Kago no naka no tori wa…'

Where was it coming from?

'Itsu itsu deyaru…'

She felt a sudden urge to find it. She had to find it!

'Yoake no ban ni…'

It was a song she heard a long time ago.

'Tsuru to kame ga subetta…'

A macabre song meant to be sung to a child's game. Such sweet voices singing such morbid words!

'Ushiro no shoumen dare.'

The snowfall grew heavier, the wind blew harder, the moon was covered by the clouds and everything turned cold. She wrapped her arms around herself in a vain attempt to keep warm. Funny, she had always been able to tolerate the cold better than anyone she knew.

There was a screech, a sharp piercing screech that sounded more like a high-pitched whistle that stung her ears. She brought her hands up to cover her ears.

The gentle snowfall had turned into a blizzard now. The winds were howling and tossing her about like a ragdoll. She fought to get back to her feet, struggled to remain upright. She saw the outline a figure standing a little ways before her, a small figure, very much smaller than her. And it stood up straight despite the demonic winds and the cursed snowfall.

She squinted her eyes, tried to see who it was, before giving up and deciding to move closer. It was hard work placing one foot before the other. Her feet sank into the deep snow and came out frozen when she pulled them up. But that did not stop her from making her way to the little person.

It took her a while, whether minutes or hours she did not know. When she reached that person she realized it was a child, a girl (she just knew it was a girl). The little girl had short ebony hair that fell a little below her shoulders and blew about in the wind. She was dressed in a pure white kimono with a blood red obi. Her face was covered by a mask of an animal she could not recognize in the snowstorm. But what was truly surprising was that the child was bare footed even in the cold snow.

'Aren't you cold?' she asked the child, her own state of misery forgotten temporarily.

The child shook her head no.

'Are you lost?'

The girl nodded in the affirmative.

'Come here, let me help you!' she reached out to the little girl, but when her hand was just an inch from the girl's body the frozen ground beneath her cracked and broke apart. She fell through and found herself weightless yet descending lower.

Water, she realized, freezing cold water. She had fallen into a frozen lake. She looked up and saw the hole close up, the water freezing the opening shut and the cracks in the ice slowly fading away.

Horrified, she swam up. Her hands touched the glassy surface of the frozen lake and felt how thick and solid it was. Panic gripped her being and she began to hit the ice in desperation. She saw the blurry outline of the child kneeling and doing the same from the other side.

Her lungs burned and her muscles ached, her fingers froze and her legs went numb. She was losing strength quickly. She pounded the ice a few more times, her mouth opened involuntarily. A few precious air bubbles escaped and drifted up before hitting the ice above, trapped just like her.

Finally, her body gave out and she sank…

* * *

Her eyes snapped open and she was gasping, desperately trying to force air into her lungs. She could still feel the water lodged in her throat and ice prickling her skin.

It took her a while to compose herself. When she did she sat up and found that she was in a shack of some sort, the wood making up its walls was old and ruined. A pleasantly cool breeze swept in from the half open door and swept away the remnants of her nightmare lighting the embers in the fire pit on the way.

She wondered how she got here and the events of last night crashed into her mind. Scrambling about she felt for her stomach and found it bandaged. Her left arm was in a sling. For a brief second she expected Urahara to come bursting through the door with his hat and fan and silly laugh. Then she remembered that she was in Kyoto and he was in Karakura.

She forced her aching body to its feet, her kosode hanging over only the right half of her body reminiscent of her state after the Winter War, arms free of tekkō and feet bare of her _waraji _and _tabi_. She found them placed neatly in the far corner. Sode no Shirayuki was sheathed and leaning against the far wall.

Dawn was breaking as she walked out of the shack. She found herself in the compound of a Shinto shrine, the red torii to her left and the main shrine room to her right being blaringly obvious clues. Rukia wondered who brought her here, saved and healed her.

Her questions were answered when she found a woman sitting on the stairs leading up to the torii and watching over the horizon. A dog of the purest white sat on its haunches beside her. Its pointed ears pricked up and it turned its head to gaze at Rukia with big brown eyes.

Rukia walked the four feet until she was standing directly behind the woman. Her violet eyes took in the sight before her.

The old shrine was nestled on a hill overlooking the whole of Kyoto. The sun rising over the horizon drenched both the city and the skies above it with brilliant hues of red, orange and yellow. The trees surrounding them glittered like gold. Kyoto, with its many shrines and draped in the stunning colors of sunrise, looked like a piece of heaven that had broken off and fallen onto earth.

For several minutes neither woman moved, nor did they acknowledge each other, content with watching the spectacle before them. Then the sky bled to blue, the show was over and it was time for them to confront each other.

'How are you feeling? Do your wounds still hurt?' the woman asked first, surprising Rukia.

'Uh… no. Thank you.'

The woman just shrugged in reply. Her slender fingers buried themselves in the fur on the dog's neck and it leaned into her touch, closing its eyes in bliss.

And Rukia found herself at a loss for words. She tried to think of something, say something, but every time her mouth opened it closed again without a single sound coming out. A million thoughts were running through her mind.

She observed the woman seated on the stairs. The woman was fairly tall; if she were to stand she'd reach about five feet five inches. She was dressed in casual jeans and a plain white long sleeved T-shirt with grey converse. Her loose hair was parted in the middle and flowed down to just brush her shoulder blades, completely even with no bangs or fringe and not a strand out of place or falling onto her face (making Rukia jealous). She had golden tan skin that complimented her deep brown eyes and a very beautiful but stern heart-shaped face. Like her brother this woman held a natural air of aristocratic grace, or snobbish pride, whichever is preferred. Unlike her brother this woman's presence was warm and welcoming and Rukia imagined her lips would curve into a smile much more easily.

That this woman was special enough to see spirits was a given.

That she could use powers was also obvious. How else could she have healed Rukia's reishi body?

And those things on the rooftop…

'What were those things?' the words left the Shinigami's mouth even before she could think on it. She clapped a hand over her mouth, though she did not know why. For some strange reason even thinking of those things felt like taboo.

'Remnants', the woman replied simply, 'Don't worry. They aren't jibakurai or hollows. They are simply memories of those left behind. There is no need to worry about them.'

'They tried to kill me!' Rukia blurted indignantly.

'You misunderstand', the woman replied calmly, 'You, a Shinigami, need not worry about them. There are those that can take care of them.' She glanced at Rukia and must have noticed her confusion, because she continued. 'They are attached to only this world, definitely not like humans who are attached to all the worlds in existence. You couldn't 'kill' them because they can merge with keishi so easily.'

'I don't understand what you just said', Rukia admitted, 'But if they aren't affected by Zanpakutō then how do you stop them.'

'By destroying their existence.'

Rukia was startled by the woman's words. She felt her spirit blood run cold. 'No!' she shouted without thinking. She noticed the woman tense for a fraction of a second. If she wasn't used to reading her brother she would never have noticed it. 'You can't… they felt human… at least one of them did… there has to be another way…'

'Afraid not', the woman cut her off sharply, and Rukia realized that she did not like the idea of it either. Again it was something that no one would have noticed, except for the sister hiding in the shadow of a brother whose sanity depended on stiff gestures. 'But…' here the woman hesitated, looked to debate on something and caught the petite Shinigami's complete attention, 'If you are really determined to do something then start with where you found them gathered and the faces you saw. You'll understand why it's too late.'

The woman began to walk down the steps, her canine companion trotting majestically beside her as Rukia watched in silence, still trying to take in this strange meeting and the knowledge it gave her. The dog turned to regard her one last time and the shorter woman saw an intelligent glint in those brown eyes.

As the woman and the dog reached the bottom of the steps and started off down a street Rukia noted that the dog was not one of those cute, plump, floppy-eared breeds that rolled on their stomachs and humans adored so much. This one was sleek and muscular, with silky fur and a predatory poise, and walked with its head held high. And it was as she saw the figures disappear from view that she realized she had felt two reiatsu, excluding her own. One of it belonged to the dog.

Great, she certainly had a knack for meeting the strangest of people!

* * *

**The song here translates as:  
**

Kagome, kagome

The bird in the cage

When, oh when will it come out?

In the night of dawn

The crane and turtle slipped and fell

Who is behind you now?

**I think there is nothing else for me to explain here. **

**Please review!**


	4. The spirits within

**I don't have anything to say so I'll just skip the stupid note.**

**Read and enjoy!**

* * *

**Uchi ni aru re**

内にある霊

_(The spirits within)_

* * *

Urahara Kisuke was enjoying the peaceful morning with a cup of his steaming tea. It was one of those rare times when there was no ruckus. Tessai was out grocery shopping, Jinta was at the ballpark with Kurosaki's tomboyish sister, Ururu had gone shopping with Kurosaki's other sister and Yoruichi was… somewhere. He had the entire shop to himself and he planned on whiling away the day by being lazy and not doing a thing.

Ring!

So much for that thought!

Ring!

Who on earth would be cruel enough to destroy his wonderful morning?

'Hello, Urahara Shōten, how may…?'

His cheerful yet monotonic greeting was cut off by the voice on the other side. By the richness and depth with a lilt of childlike pride it was easy to guess who it was.

'Urahara-san.'

'Ah, Kuchiki-san! What may I do for my favorite…?'

He was cut off again. 'I need a gigai to be delivered to Kyoto.' The stiffness of her voice caught him off-guard. She seemed to be in an awful mood.

'Kuchiki-san…'

'I'm on a mission, Urahara-san, and I really appreciate having a gigai. There are many spiritually aware people here and most of them are priests or monks or exorcists or have descended from one of the above. I swear if I come across another idiot trying to 'exorcise' me, I'll slaughter them and their entire family, return to Soul Society and repeat it again!'

Urahara gulped and chuckled nervously. That certainly explained her terrible mood. He could feel the intent to kill all the way across the airwaves and telephone lines.

'Why didn't you just ask…?'

'I'd rather just deal with you.'

Rukia would never see his gaze soften, no one would, not even his best friend Yoruichi. He owed the girl for what he did to her, owed her for her almost death, and owed her for forgiving him and still coming back to ask for his help, for believing he was still a decent man, even though she physically abused him at times (but since she abused her two best friends practically all the time it did not count). And for that he would do anything for her. He would never admit it though, and not because of his pride (though that was **one** factor), but because Rukia was not as innocent as she made herself look and she was not above using others for her own ends, even if he was still **the **master.

'I'll see what I can do', he said with a softer, pleasanter tone.

'Thank you', she replied but then hesitated to hang up.

'Kuchiki-san?' he asked in concern.

'Do you know what Remnants are?'

Urahara was caught off-guard once again. 'Remnants?' he parroted stupidly.

'Is it possible for a soul to have more than one connection to earth, to be bound by more than just the chain of fate and be completely merged with this dimension?'

'Kuchiki-san, what are you…?'

'Never mind', she cut him off. Seriously, did this girl enjoy not letting him complete his sentences? Well, considering how she thinks every other thing he says happens to be asinine… but he could be serious too!

'Text me on how you'll send that gigai Urahara-san', she said in a curt business-like manner, 'Thank you!' Only then did she hang up.

The blond man frowned at the receiver in his hand before a wide smile broke out on his face. If Kuchiki Rukia thought she could hide things from him then she had another thing coming. That girl had a habit of getting herself into all sorts of trouble and discovering the weirdest of things. And he would be damned if he was going to be kept out of the fun!

'I'm home!' he heard Tessai greet as he entered their abode.

'Welcome home!' the blond called back before asking the inevitable question, 'Tessai-san, where is the travel bag?'

'In the closet down the hall. Why?'

'I'm going to Kyoto!'

* * *

'Kurosaki Ichigo', they heard her say, 'He is easily on par with any of us, but not exactly the most strategic mind. He fights like a brawler and is not as dangerous as a real soldier. The only danger is his unpredictable impulses. If we are to succeed, we'll have to take him out of the equation first.'

'Oh, come on! Why do something like that? Obviously the boy is stupid', one of them said, the most trigger-happy of them all, 'Let me fight him. I'm sure it'll be a good fight before I kill him.'

'Shut up!' their leader snarled, silencing her subordinate while instilling fear in them all, 'Stop being an arrogant fool! Aizen and Juha Bach lost because they thought power was the only thing that mattered.' She turned her back on them, daring them to defy her, to stab her in the back, 'We are not here to prove a point. We are here to get our work done. Don't think like a child! If you endanger our goal with your petty squabbles I'll add you to the list of Dead Apostles I've disposed of.'

The young woman could only grit her teeth and bow her head.

* * *

Rukia tapped her foot impatiently as she waited outside the railway station. It had been an hour since she arrived at the station, five hours since Urahara had texted her to wait there but refused to mention how he would send her gigai, and eight hours since she decided to follow that strange woman's advice.

Her arm was no longer in a sling and her abdomen only gave out jolts of pain when she stretched. She knew the reishi levels of Kyoto were high but the reishi levels of that shrine must have been especially concentrated. She had spent less than an hour awake there and she had felt herself healing.

After that she had made her way to the building she had seen those figures on the night before. The remnants of pain from the wounds that were slowly healing had forced her to walk on the street. As a result many people could see her. Most looked away again and pretended to have not seen anything. Others…

'Be gone, evil spirit!'

Yeah, you get the picture.

'By the power vested in me…'

Whack!

'Get lost!' she growled at the man dressed in Shinto priest garb.

The poor man with a swollen bump on his head fled, cowering under her violet glare.

Rukia only sighed in relief and resumed her position of leaning against the wall. This had been the sixteenth 'exorcist'… or was it the eighteenth? Seriously, how did the Shinigami assigned here handle these whack jobs?

Oh yeah, since this is a very spiritually active area it was assigned to the 11th division that specialized in frontal assaults and were akin to a band of thugs. No wonder these people thought spirits dressed in black were evil.

Her thoughts resumed to what she had discovered.

She had reached the building where she had seen those 'Remnants' the previous night. The sign on the building said that it belonged to the Fujou Publishing House. The building seemed deserted, the company for publishing children's books no longer there.

She tried to scout out more information, but it was hard to check the local records (something she picked up from the Kuchiki household) or access the internet (something she learnt from Ishida) without a gigai, but she did manage to get something.

Apparently (according to the rumors of school girls who thought the building was 'haunted') the Fujou family owned the business until the young president's daughter fell ill when she was only eight years old. His wife and he died two years later. The rest of the family fought over the ownership of the business and abandoned the daughter until they all died out one by one. Now the building is said to house 'ghosts'.

It wasn't far from the truth and it did raise a lot of suspicions for the Shinigami. It also raised several more questions…

'Ah, Kuchiki-san!'

Rukia looked up at the sound of the **very** familiar voice. She looked at him blankly for a second before letting out a tired sigh and mumbling, 'I should have known.'

Before her stood the ever grinning figure of Urahara Kisuke. Unlike the other times she had seen him he wasn't dressed in his green keikogi and black haori. He now wore a black button-up shirt, black trousers, a mustard yellow jacket and black leather shoes. _Now_ _if only he shaved and got rid of that stupid hat he would look quite handsome_, she mused.

'Kuchiki-san, you're too young to be checking **me **out!'

Of course, that earned him an elbow to the gut.

* * *

Urahara's grey eyes had darkened until they resembled storm clouds. He was serious now. He had patiently listened to everything she had told him – everything except about the woman and her dog – and was now deep in thought.

Rukia glanced about the coffee shop. It wasn't busy nor was it empty. It was not one of those flashy cafés nor was it one of those gloomy poetry ones. This one was just a corner shop with a normal crowd that came in, drank coffee, ate something, chatted with others and left. It was the kind that everyone liked.

She cut off another piece of her cheese cake and placed it in her mouth as she watched the older man sip his coffee, his mind lost in thought. He knew nothing of this, had not even the slightest clue. He had nothing to do with any of this; it was not one of his games. Yet, she found herself with second thoughts. Something about all this made her feel as if she alone needed to understand this. She could trust him with keeping secrets, but could she trust him with sharing the ones that involved her?

She shook her head at the question. Everyone had their closed doors, even her. Whether she could trust him or not was irrelevant, he was the only one with enough expertise to make sense of what was going on.

'From what you told me, every member of the Fujou family is dead?'

His voice startled her out of her thoughts. 'Yes', she replied in a business-like voice after she gathered her composure in a second, 'All of them were confirmed accidents. It's hard to tell if hollows were involved.'

'I see. And all those 'Remnants' you saw on the building were female?'

'Yes.'

'I think we need to find something else as well', Urahara stated just as he put down his empty cup and Rukia polished off her cake slice.

'What do we need to find?' she asked when she saw him get up and pay the bill, which was odd of him, having experienced firsthand how miserly he could be. She squinted at him as she followed him out, trying to find anything that proved that it was not really him before her.

'You remember the faces, right?' She was startled out of her thoughts yet again and nodded sheepishly at being caught mid-scrutiny. 'Well, then I'm sure you can help me find their identities.'

* * *

'Has Rukia reported to you yet?'

Ukitake nearly snapped his own fingers off with the shears. He spun around and came face to face with the proud figure of Kuchiki Byakuya. 'Byakuya! What are you doing here? Rukia was right about your ninja skills!'

The younger man only frowned at him. 'Has Rukia reported to you?'

'Uh… yes, of course, she just took out a few hollows', the white haired captain replied, wondering if the Kuchiki had finally lost it, 'Why? Please tell me you aren't being unreasonably worried and overprotective!'

'No.' And the word was backed by a cold glare. 'The servants and I keep seeing a Yuki-Onna below the treasured Sakura tree.'

'Huh? I'm sorry, but what has this got to do with your sister?'

'She has Rukia's reiatsu', the Kuchiki ground out.

'Sode no Shirayuki?' Ukitake worded the thought that was bothering Byakuya, 'She's supposed to be with Rukia, isn't she?'

* * *

Rukia felt dread pool in the pit of her stomach at the images on the screen. All of them were faces of nine of the ten Remnants she had seen. All of them had committed suicide by jumping off the Fujou building at about the same age over the past three years.

'Urahara-san, what could this mean?'

'I haven't the slightest clue', he admitted. He looked just as baffled.

First, each member of the Fujou family dies out over three years. The next three years nine girls commit suicide on the Fujou building?

'Kuchiki-san, would you go through the Fujou family records again. I'll see what I can find out about these girls', Urahara stated as he opened another browser and started typing something.

She nodded and made her way to the archive where the crime reports were kept. Eh, sneaking into the police headquarters in the dead of the night was child's play for Shinigami who could phase through walls. She paid no heed to the people who stayed back for the night. Most were not able to see her anyway. She silently snickered at the idea of someone walking in and seeing books floating about and computers running by themselves. It certainly wasn't something you see every day!

She pulled open the draw and was about to pull out a thick file from within when she felt a presence behind her. She immediately spun around, ready to throw a nasty right hook when her wrist was caught. Startled, she looked up the see the woman she had met that morning.

'You really are determined, huh?' the woman asked as she let go of her hand and towered over the petite figure.

Rukia's eyes narrowed. 'Of course!'

'Even if they cannot be sent to Soul Society?'

That made Rukia pause. The woman had mentioned before that those beings had to be destroyed. 'I don't understand', she admitted.

The woman merely narrowed her eyes. There was a sudden flare of power that alarmed Rukia. She felt the slow burn at the back of her throat and smelt the nascent scent of ozone. She also heard the distinct cackle of electric sparks and an echo of the low rumble of thunder in the distance. The woman's presence was like a storm, the very thought swept one off their feet. Her presence was passively violent, actively aggressive and silently intimidating, yet promised a better beginning.

The woman leant against the rack behind her and crossed her arms across her average yet noticeable chest. 'You call yourself a Shinigami, a **death god**. Yet you know nothing of death.'

'What are you saying?' Rukia asked in curiosity.

The woman merely eyed Rukia for a moment, her calculating brown eyes sending shivers down the smaller woman's spine. 'All beings in this world are immortal in a way.' At Rukia's open shock she continued, 'When a person dies they lose their body and their soul moves onto the next plane of existence. From earth to the Soul Society or Hueco Mundo and back, it is an endless cycle. Memories and personal quirks are the price to be paid, while the majority of the personality defined by the soul is retained.'

'But we won't be the same people.'

'You're right, we won't. But our souls will be carried on, our instinct, our beliefs, our feelings – our **legacy** will be passed on to the next. That is what I meant by immortality.'

Rukia understood this part. She carried a similar belief passed down to her by her mentor. She had a feeling, though, that there was a lot more that needed to be explained. 'What are you trying to tell me?'

'Those girls were never allowed to move on. Their souls were destroyed. All that is left of them is their memories.' The woman looked at her with unwavering, scrutinizing eyes and Rukia had to fight the urge to look away. 'Set them free.'

'How?'

'Every being in existence is defined by a boundary – the boundary of existence. Solids have a set shape because the nature of the molecules defines it. Liquids and gases take on the shape of the containers. All of them exist within a given set of parameters defined by the universe. Destroy those parameters and you destroy the being.'

The woman pushed herself off the rack and stood straight. 'Quincy learnt to do this, but their methods are unrefined and destroy even the soul. You need to destroy the body and allow the soul to pass on.' At Rukia's confused stare she explained further. 'Beings of one plane cannot interfere with another. That is why most keishi objects cannot hurt you and vice versa. However, there are times when you unconsciously force your existence onto the world. That you do by materializing halfway in both planes. Spiritually aware humans also do this subconsciously. Their reiryoku allows them this merge.' She looked at Rukia intently. 'Can you now tell me why you weren't able to cut them last night?'

Rukia went over what she had been told and came to her conclusion. 'They forced themselves to materialize completely on the keishi plane. That was why I wasn't able to touch them.'

'Yes', the woman agreed, 'Halfway materialization is a two way process. You can touch and can be touched. You can hurt and can be hurt. So if you want to cut something in the keishi plane you'll have to materialize completely within the keishi plane.'

'Which is not possible without a gigai', Rukia replied with a frown.

'No, not naturally, but you can learn.'

The petite Shinigami looked up in surprise. 'How?'

The woman smiled gently. 'Tell me how you track presences.'

'With spirit ribbons', was the immediate reply.

A slow lazy smile curled on the taller woman's face. 'You see them as ribbons because your mind only pictures what you have been told. You'll need to learn to see them for what they truly are.' She moved to stand behind Rukia. The Shinigami fought down a blush when she felt the woman's soft yet firm chest press into the back of her head. 'Close your eyes and listen.'

Rukia sucked in a deep breath and did as she was told. She tried to focus on the world around her. At first all she heard was the rhythm of the woman's breathing matching her own. But as she listened patiently she heard the world slowly come to life around her.

In the still of the night she heard the muffled footsteps of the people working late, the rustle of pages turning, the clicks and clacks of fingers typing on keyboards and the low murmurs of conversations among the staff.

'Listen carefully', the woman whispered behind her.

Rukia focused on the sounds, searching for more. Somewhere there was the gently hum of the various machines at work and the whispers of air currents dancing in the rooms and flowing through the air vents. She heard the steady drone of traffic outside, the honks of automobiles, the lively sound of nightlife.

'There's more', the rich husky voice whispered in her ear.

'More?' she whispered back.

'Much more…'

Yes, there was more. She prodded further, forced her senses to reach deeper. There were the soft whispers of breathing, the uniform stampede of marching ants in some corner of the building, the slight rustle of unfurled wings as slumbering pigeons shifted in the nests made in nooks and crannies of these buildings. There was the buzz of electricity in the wires within the walls, the gentle rumble of vibrations within the earth, the soft trickling of water in pipes and deep below the ground, the hiss of a flickering flame in homes and shrines alike, the howl of the winds among the clouds high up in the heavens above.

A few seconds later she heard it. She knew that was what she had needed to hear, purely out of the overwhelming exertion of the sound itself.

A single heartbeat.

One among many, yet louder and more prominent than all the rest. It was so powerful that it vibrated through her entire being. And she found herself both awed and humbled.

'What was that?' she asked.

'Life', the woman replied, startling Rukia who had forgotten about her presence, 'You'll understand soon.' She stepped away from the girl. 'Don't go tonight. You won't be able to touch them tonight. But when you do go don't forget to listen. That is the first step. After that you'll have to learn to see and feel. Only then will you understand the meaning of existence.' She then turned away from Rukia. 'Keep your mind open to all possibilities.'

Dazed as she was Rukia did not notice the woman walk away until she had already rounded the corner of the aisle. 'Hey wait!' she called out and dashed to catch up. But when she turned the corner all she found was an empty hallway with no one in sight. 'Where did she go?'

'Where did who go?'

The voice made her jump and she whirled about looking like a deer caught in headlights. 'U-Urahara-san!' Oh, she had forgotten he was there too! She shook her head. 'Come on, let's go. I think I know what to do now, but I need to prepare.'

* * *

There were so many spirits around. Rukia had read about the various spirits inhabiting the world in the Kuchiki records, but this was the very first time she ever felt their presence. There were so many that she wondered how she could have missed most of them for the past century and a half.

Some spirits were larger than skyscrapers, some smaller than her fingernails, but all of them lived their own spirit lives and went about their business. They were elusive creatures, capable of cloaking themselves far better than even the captains of the Gotei 13.

She wondered if the other Shinigami had ever experienced this. Perhaps there were a few. But then she remembered Kurotsuchi Mayuri and hoped that they had never known of them. Then again, she was only able to sense them after what that woman had told her.

She had yet to tell Urahara about that woman. She had no doubt that he knew that she was hiding something but he did not pry.

The previous night, after her encounter with the woman she brought Urahara back to the shrine she had woken up in he had agreed that the reishi levels of that particular shrine were very high. She only understood why when she sat down under the Sasaki tree to meditate.

The shrine was surrounded by trees that had Kodama living within them. Some of these spirits were older than ever her. She had been halfway through her meditation when they had made themselves known by popping out of the trees and seating themselves before her – all fifty three of them.

Rukia had to force herself to bite back squeal of delight because she knew Kodama were very shy creatures and were easily scared away. It was hard though, considering how cute they were.

All Kodama had pretty much the same features with a few unique traits. They were all pint sized, standing at about two feet from the ground, with pale white humanoid bodies. Their hands had no fingers and feet had no toes. They had round faces with small button noses, cute pouty lips and big black bug-eyes. They all had mops of hair of different colors. So far Rukia had seen black, brown, red, yellow, orange, pink, blue, green and purple.

They were all seated cross-legged before her and gazing at her with curious black eyes. It was pure torture for her to sit still and not hug them. Maybe if she moved slowly and made her intentions know they would give her a hug?

'Rukia-chan, where'd you go?'

Of course Urahara just had to kill the mood!

'Whoa!' the blond had just arrived at the tree and found himself the center of attention of the weirdest creatures he had ever seen. 'Uh… Rukia-chan…?'

'They're Kodama', Rukia replied with a glare that could have frozen a thousand suns, peeved at having her time with these cute little critters interrupted.

Said Kodama turned their stares to him and their big bug-eyes successfully gave him the creeps. Then one Kodama tilted its head with a click. Another followed with another click. Soon all the Kodama were tilting their heads from side to side producing clicks that sounded like a cacophony of cricket chirps.

Urahara and Rukia witnessed the spectacle in awe. It was cute, sweet and outright awe-inspiring, and brought smiles to their faces. It lasted a full five minutes before it suddenly stopped.

Then without warning all fifty-three Kodama pounced on the unsuspecting Urahara Kisuke at once. Rukia could only wince at the man's tortured cries as his body was drowned within the sea of Kodama.

* * *

'…the hollows were luring us around at first. They did not even try to attack. It was as if they were waiting in ambush…'

Yoruichi stifled a yawn. These kids were experienced enough to take down even well coordinated Vasto Lordes. So why on earth was the Quincy complaining to her again?

'…one would attack and the rest would watch. When we fought back against one, another would attack our blind spots…'

Bah! Basic strategy. Even animals use them. Stupid Kisuke running off to Kyoto on an adventure while leaving her behind to deal with these kids!

'…and then-'

Ishida's monotonic report was cut off by a sudden beep.

'Hold that thought', Yoruichi held up a finger while she dug into her jacket to get her phone out. 'Aha!' she yelled out as she held up the phone for the four kids to see. It was not an ordinary phone though. It not only acted as a communicator between human phones but also with ones from Soul Society. It also had several special apps that would make an iphone green with envy. And it could also detect, analyze and take snap shots of spirit particles.

It was Kisuke's greatest invention yet, in her opinion.

Right now she had received an email with an attached picture. Odd, she never received anything from Kisuke, not even a phone call. Curious, she opened it and stared at what she had been sent.

The four human teenagers stared at Yoruichi as she stared and stared and stared and turned the phone upside down and stared and righted the phone and stared and stared and finally threw her head back and howled in laughter!

'Yoruichi-san?' Ichigo asked tentatively, because frankly they were all scared out of their wits.

In reply Yoruichi only held out the phone for them to see as she clutched her stomach to help brace herself against the painful fits of laughter. Ichigo, Uryuu, Chad and Orihime leaned in closer to look at the picture and felt their mouths fall open.

All because the picture showed **the** Urahara Kisuke scowling and covered from head to toe with the most colorful spring flowers one had ever seen while cute little white bug-eyed thingies danced all around him.

* * *

'You're evil', he muttered as he pulled a plum blossom from his head, 'I now understand why Kurosaki-kun and Abarai-kun are so scared of you.'

Rukia merely shrugged in reply. 'Couldn't pass up the chance!' she smiled sweetly.  
The blond only scowled before pulling a few more flowers from his hair. 'How on earth did you manage to summon Kodama?' he asked her after pulling a lily out form within his collar.

'I don't know. They just appeared', she replied, because she really did not know that Kodama had to be summoned.

'Just appeared huh?'

Rukia looked at the former captain and saw him gazing at a distance. He obviously knew something that he wasn't telling her.

'I knew another person that attracted Kodama just as easily.' He sounded both nostalgic and regretful.

Rukia's heart skipped a beat at his words. The woman's face flashed in her head. She knew there was something off about that woman. But she had no proof for such a conclusion. She was brought out of her thoughts by a question Urahara asked.

'So, what do we do about the Remnants?'

* * *

**I really have nothing to say. This chapter revealed a few elements that will be detrimental to Rukia's strength in the future. I'm just glad its out of the way.  
**

**Please review!**


	5. Lonely night

**Note that this chapter is a bit angst-ridden and I hate angst. So I apologize beforehand if it did not come out well.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Kodokuno yoru**

孤独な夜

_(Lonely night)_

* * *

They were watching the sun set over Kyoto from the roof of the Fujou Publishing House. It would have been a beautiful sight if it were not for the inevitable confrontation they were looking forward to… sort of…

Those Remnants would not appear during the day, Rukia had confirmed it with several visits to the building the previous day. So, the two of them were waiting for the dark.

Urahara Kisuke turned to observe the Shinigami standing beside him. She looked distracted… no, she was concentrating on something.

Rukia had come a long way from the girl he had found that night in Karakura, and a longer way from the little child he had found in Inuzuri, though she retained her spunk. He was glad she did. He had been looking forward to meeting her again for over a century now, just to see who the girl that had kicked the Captain of the 12th division in the shin and made him chase her for over an hour had grown into. He still remembered the pain. He had thought of her as a demon dressed as a doll then. In fact, he still had doubts about her being as angelic as people made her out to be.

'Urahara-san, they're here.'

Her voice brought him out of his thoughts. He followed her line of sight and froze. Ten sirens were floating in the night sky, shrouded by the light of the waning moon, and sucking up reiatsu that was around them.

He couldn't help but let out a low whistle. 'You were right about them being creepy!'

He could bear seeing fangs or horns. Heck he had seen several hideous hollow masks, some twisted beyond comprehension, and had been fascinated by them!

But this… this was too much…

To see human faces, the faces of innocent girls, look so dead, so angelic and so demonic at the same time… it sent shivers racing down his spine. What made everything more bizarre was that none of them had the chains of fate or the holes indicating their hearts had been ripped out. They looked like complete ethereal beings, like _tenin_ (angels).

And just like Rukia had told him there was one that did not look like the others. In fact, it looked alive and aware. It was the one they had not found the identity of yet.

'Kuchiki-san, I think that is the one controlling them', he pointed at the one with flowing ebony hair.

'Thought so', she muttered.

With one fluid motion she had her Zanpakutō drawn. A second later she shot off her spot. She had barely taken five steps before one maroon haired figure screeched and dove at her. She jumped over it and gathered her reiryoku in her feet to plant herself firmly on a reishi path.

Urahara saw the look of surprise on the leader's face. It then waved its arm. Another blond Remnant let out a shriek and flew toward Rukia from her right, but she turned and slashed down. The blade passed right through the figure and Rukia followed, passing through it and landing on the next reishi path. She immediately turned and slashed up. This time the figure was torn apart across the back. But unlike what Rukia had told him, it did not fix itself again. Instead, it fell apart and disintegrated into several shards of light that died away.

_What happened?_ the blond asked himself.

Judging from the Shinigami's expression, she did not know either.

* * *

Rukia watched in silence and slight surprise as the Remnant disappeared. She understood now, at least in part. Despite their shrieks, the bodies of the Remnants hummed. She could hear them when they were materialized on the reishi plane. And when they materialized completely in the keishi plane the hum had diminished in not just intensity, but quality as well. That was why she had attacked them head-on; they would have no choice but to evade her the only way they knew how. And she got her chance when they tried to counter-attack.

'_Halfway materialization is a two way process. You can touch and can be touched. You can hurt and can be hurt.'_

But there was more. She could feel her own body hum. And at that moment she understood that she would need to focus her reiryoku to make the humming of her body match that of the Remnants' bodies. It would be trying but she had always been good at controlling her reiryoku.

She also understood what the woman had meant by setting them free. It was made obvious when she had heard the soft whisper. 'Thank you', the melancholic voice had told her.

Her violet eyes narrowed in cold fury as realization dawned on her. She trained her icy glare on the one apparition that looked alive. 'You're controlling them against their will!' she growled lowly, 'You were the one that killed them!'

* * *

Urahara landed on the reishi path behind the petite Shinigami. It was just as he had suspected. This creature, whatever it was, was what had killed those girls, and probably all the members of the Fujou family as well.

'Urahara-san, stay back.'

He started at what Rukia had told him. 'Are you sure?' he asked her.

'Yes', she replied simply. She turned to face him. 'I won't hesitate.'

He looked her in the eye and she met his gaze without wavering. A few moments of silence passed before he relented.

'Fine, but if I see things getting out of hand I'm interfering', he warned and then grinned, 'If anything were to happen to you, you're brother would have my head.'

Rukia offered him a small indulgent smile before turning back to face the Remnants. The leader backed away in fear as Rukia's face turned blank. She was serious now.

Urahara jumped back onto the roof and observed in silence. He saw Rukia draw in a deep silent breath. And then she was racing across the paths she had woven with reishi and towards the nearest apparition.

When she was close enough she leapt up and slashed it across its face. She landed on a higher path and in three strides placed herself in front of a short haired one a little to her right. She cut that one from the right shoulder to the left elbow. She spun on her heel and cut through the arm of a long haired one that was attacking from behind and then sliced it across its waist. All three of them dissipated.

The leader, with panic clear on its face, commanded the other five to scatter across the sky, one remaining close in front of her. All seemed prepared to fly away. It may have been its attempt at trying to save them and itself, Urahara thought, but its efforts were all in vain.

Rukia used shunpo to get behind the one that had floated to the east. Her Zanpakutō cut it across its back and it dispersed. She then reached another one a few meters away and cut it across the waist. Another skilled shunpo set her in front of the one that had floated south. She ducked away from its wild swings and brought her blade down on its neck, beheading it. The one that had floated north was sliced across the chest.

She used shunpo to get in front of the last one and cleaved it in half right down its middle from the top of its head. As its body disappeared she looked at the last one with the ferocious expression she reserved for those she truly loathed.

The wraith tried to float away but Rukia was before it in less than a second. Without a second of hesitation the Shinigami ran her sword right through its chest, right where its heart should be.

Something happened then.

The figure screamed before fading away, but the scream sounded very much human, much different from the ear-piercing shrieks of the others. The pained cry echoed through the silent night, heard only by those that could interact with spirits.

Then Rukia clutched her head in pain. It felt like several needles were piercing her subconscious, pelting her with jolts that tore through her senses. The pain grew steadily by the second and when she could no longer grit her teeth and bear it she let out a blood-curdling scream.

Urahara only had a fraction of a second to react after hearing that scream as Rukia's body went limp and she fell from the sky. He used shunpo to appear on a path below her and caught her light body.

'Kuchiki-san!' he called out to the girl in his arms. Her eyes were wide open and glazed over. 'Kuchiki-san… Rukia? Rukia!'

She did not respond to him. Instead she let out a strangled gasp, closed her eyes and fell unconscious.

* * *

'_I love my Mama and Papa…'_

'_You are such a beautiful girl…'_

'_My daughter is the smartest and bravest little girl in the world…'_

Voices.

There were so many voices. She could not make out which voice was whose or what they were saying. They kept changing and repeating. There was no way to differentiate between them.

'…_leukemia…'_

'_Chances of recovery are low…'_

'…_long does she have?'_

'…_two or three years…'_

The voices were then given faces and the dark world around her was given light. There was a woman with a tender face and a bright smile and soft silk-like dark hair and a man with kind brown eyes. There was another man with a nice smile but blank eyes and a white coat. And she was in a room.

It smelt like those detergents the maids used in her home, but the smell was stronger here. She did not like that room.

'_You're mama and papa are gone…'_

'…_gone…?'_

'…_they left you behind…'_

These people, they were supposed to be family. Yet…

'_Stupid girl… left behind…'_

'…_care for her…'_

'…_our company…'_

'_Leave her…'_

They were supposed to be family…

'…_Oba-chan died…'_

'…_Oji-san…'_

'…_not there…'_

'_Don't go…'_

She was better off without them…

'…_no one else to take care of her…'_

But she was alone. She did not want to be alone. She wanted friends. She wanted to go outside, not stay in this room!

'_Do you want to fly?'_

There was a man. She did not remember his face.

'_I can teach you.'_

But he had a nice voice. It was deep and rumbled like the waves of the sea she had gone to when she was still a little girl.

'_I want friends too…'_

'_I can't give you friends. You need to find them on your own.'_

He was a nice man. He taught her how to fly. He gave her a chance to make friends.

But… why was that girl killing her friends? Why?

She had beautiful eyes though… beautiful violet eyes.

* * *

Urahara was there when Rukia's eyes shot open. He was there when she looked around her with scared eyes. He was there when she saw his face and smiled, even as the tears gathered in her eyes. He was there when she turned to the side away from him, curled up and started sobbing.

And never in his life had he been more confused.

* * *

'Are you sure of what you saw?'

To this Ukitake earned a frosty grey-eyed glare.

'Of course', the head of the Kuchiki clan cooly replied.

'Alright.'

Both men turned back to watch the large Sakura tree. They were seated on the porch with cups of hot tea in their hands.

'I feel silly', the white haired captain admitted, 'Waiting outside for a woman to show up. Let's just hope Shunsui never hears of this.'

'I agree', Byakuya replied and suppressed a shudder.

Ukitake smiled fondly. Byakuya being teased by Shunsui? That would be the day…

It was close to midnight when the men saw the Yuki-Onna, but this time her arrival was heralded by bitter frost and not the usual pleasantly cool gales. It was the strangest spectacle either man had witnessed and will probably witness in all of their spirit lives.

One second the spot under the tree was empty, the next there was a woman kneeling. Her snow white hair was held back by midnight blue hair ornaments and her white furisode glowed in the light of the waning moon. Her back was turned to them, making them wonder what she was doing.

That is until they heard the soft sobs carried to them by the wind.

In an instant both men were behind her, watching her as she sobbed into her hands. It was a heartbreaking sight.

'Sode no Shirayuki?' Ukitake asked gently, bending over to lay his hand on a delicate shoulder.

The woman turned to face him, crystalline eyes bloodshot and pale skin stained with tears.

'Did something happen?' the white haired man asked.

She shook her head no.

'What's wrong then? Why are you crying?' he prodded further as Byakuya watched in silence.

'It's sad…' the woman's soft melodious voice replied.

'What's sad?'

'I can't say because I'm not really here. Rukia-sama will tell you.' And with those words Sode no Shirayuki faded away.

'She was not here…?'

The two men could only speculate.

* * *

'She's a beautiful child.' He said as he lay on the moist ground. The kodama were sleeping beside him like little children.

'That she is.'

'Is that why she is one of the possible candidates?' The white furred canine turned to face the woman sitting next to him.

'One of the reasons', she admitted, 'However, the most detrimental part is that of all the souls present in that realm, she happens to feel the most natural.'

'I know what you mean', the dog replied as he turned back to look at the shrine where the young Shinigami and her companion rested, his shrine that he had leant to them, 'But there are other natural souls as well, aren't there? That boy with a dragon's spirit is one of them, and he's stronger.'

The woman gave the dog an odd look. 'You of all creatures must know what real strength is', she stated bluntly, 'She may not have a mountain-pile of energy flowing in her, but I think we all know where her strength really lies. She hasn't realized it yet, though.' The woman then turned her head to look up at the moon. Its gentle silver light gave her golden-tan skin a surreal glow just as it gave her canine companion's fur a divine sheen. 'Besides, if that energy was all that mattered then it would have been her human friends chosen as the candidates.'

'Yes, I suppose the world does work in strange ways', he replied before he rested his head on the ground and closed his eyes. 'I guess I owe that child for cleaning up the mess that had been left behind.'

'You don't have to', the woman replied as she fell back on the soft ground, 'It was her test and she passed it with flying colors. I honestly did not think she would be smart enough to pick up what I had been trying to tell her.'

The dog popped an eye open to glance at her. 'Cruel', he grunted.

'But fair', she shot back, 'She needs to learn of the world. She needs to learn the truth of **her **world. But she won't be able to accept it until she understands it. It is time for her to stop seeing the world through the eyes of the naïve and the proud. However, in the end she still has a choice.'

'The way you had?' the dog asked skeptically.

The woman did not reply.

* * *

**Well, there's another chapter. I know its short. You may be able to guess what is going on. Or you may not...  
**

**I'm sorry for the late update and I won't give any excuses.**

**Please review!**


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